BUILDERS working on the new Pastures development of 125 new homes on land to the east of Kinwarton Farm Road made a surprising discovery recently.

The Redrow development falls under the parish of Kinwarton, but many residents feel the area, which lies immediately adjacent to other houses in the town is really more a part of Alcester.

However the discovery is unlikely to help matters, since construction workers found a town marker in the middle of the site.

About a dozen of the markers were originally laid down at points around Alcester to mark the ancient parish boundary, with at least one still standing to the south east of town by the side of Stratford Road.

Chris Wright, the clerk for Alcester Town Council, said: “This marker has now been ‘returned' to its rightful owners, Alcester town.”

Mike Gittus is an Alcester town councillor as well as the district councillor for Kinwarton, and he was called to collect the stone from the construction site.

He added: “Kinwarton is an ancient parish and we were keen for the Alcester marker to be moved back home. We always have a bit of a light josh about Kinwarton being a support parish, so it was funny to find it where they did.”

The marker is now safely back with the Alcester parish in Globe House while plans are underway to hopefully have it re-sited on the edge of the parish boundary when work is completed at the Pastures.